North Coast Cru dOr (Whole Foods)

Brewed by North Coast Brewing Company
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Fort Bragg, California USA

Very strange belgian brew - lots of appricot and pear in this tart, fruity blend. Medium-thin body and dry. I do agree with their description in that this ale does have some qualities of Trappist Belgians that other interpretations miss, however it does fall short in other areas - mainly complexity and mouthfeel. Decent effort, not bad at all.

Bottle from Whole Foods, NYC.
Aroma: obscene malts, glue, really sweet - like pears, slightly burnt.
Appearance: deep, brownish red, slightly dim.
Flavour: strange...malty, sweet, fruitlike in an odd way...
Palate: nothing special...pretty thick however.

Pours dark mahogany with a medium tan head. Aroma is dried fruit, alcohol and some banana. The flavors are similar to the nose, but much more muted. A pretty good beer that I would classify as Belgian Light.

Smells of brown sugar, bananas, a tinge of alcohol. Not much finish compared to some other begians. Slighly sweet, not bad; very rich.

Pours into the chalice a slightly hazy amber-orange color. Produces a decent 1/2" thick beige head which unfortunately dissipates far too quickly. Nose is quite sweet and floral with notes of caramel covered bananas and dark fruits, along with fresh yeasty bread and touch of cherry and green apples. Mouthfeel is a tad thin and somewhat watery here, but smooth and well carbonated. Flavor profile was pleasant although a bit reserved. The caramel candy/crystal malt sweetness prevailed with additional contributions of ripe fruit, bananas, cocoa, figs, raisins and floral hops. Finishes with a faint herbal hoppiness and a touch of alcohol warmth. Very drinkable and actually quite light and refreshing for a Belgian style ale, but certainly nothing to rave about here.

I was rather disappointed here, it poured a nice caramel brown color with a thin disappointing flat head. Aroma was decent with a subtle balance between caramel notes and dried fruits, flavor was bland with some fruit notes, mainly banana, and a slight caramel/molasass finish. It seemed to be quite watery and ligth though.

An interesting new beer sitting in the isle today. Pours copper with a tall beige head. Sweet fruity aroma that smells like banana nut cake. Caramel and banana bread up front, sharp peppery spices. Not as dry on the palate as I was expecting from the carbonation, but it retained a heavy body. Bitter finish that gets a bit bitter, but with the overly sweet start is kinda welcome. Nice beer for the price.

Bottle. Pours red with a sweet, fruity aroma. Certainly smells like a Belgian. The taste is sweet, yeasty, and fruity as well but there is something off. I cannot put my finger on it but there is an unpleasantness to the flavor. Good effort but falls a little short.